Asaad Al-Zoubi (R), head of the Syrian opposition delegation, and Salim al-Muslat (2nd R), spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), attend peace talks with U.N. mediator for Syria Staffan de Mistura (2nd L) at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February… The United Nations announced the formal start of peace talks for Syria on Monday and urged world powers to push for a ceasefire even as government forces, backed by Russian air strikes, launched their biggest offensive north of Aleppo in a year. Government troops and allied fighters captured hilly countryside near Aleppo on Monday, putting a key supply route used by opposition forces into firing range, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitoring group. Rebels said the offensive was being conducted with massive Russian air support, despite a promise of goodwill steps by the Syrian government to spur peace negotiations. The opposition has said that […]